


Reciprocity

by Andromakhe



Series: Balance [3]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Alliance, Bargain, Gen, Truce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-01
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-02 16:31:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5255396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromakhe/pseuds/Andromakhe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in my "Balance" AU, but no knowledge of the fic is really necessary. Karai and April complain about what they don't have. Until they discover the value of what they have and the commonality of what they need. Inspired by Jeremy Jordan's "The Right Kind of Love." Mild Leorai.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reciprocity

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine this scene in my "Balance" AU, some four days after the end of the fic. It would probably help to have read the entire story, but I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to know what’s going on. Inspired by Jeremy Jordan’s "The Right Kind of Love."

Karai sat on a big blanket on the floor of the room she shared with April, earbuds on and chuckling silently at the T-phone she was holding. Since she was officially a part of the team now, Donnie had made her one with everyone's contact information already in the address book. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head in fond embarrassment as she muttered, "Adorable idiot."

Karai crossed to the door, ensuring it was locked. She wanted no interruptions for her project. She knew people were either in the lab, watching TV, or making dinner, so she was alone upstairs. 

She queued up Emily Sande’s "Next To Me" on her phone and loaded a voice-recording program, grinning in anticipation as she blushed. Ensuring the program was recording, she began to sing along with the song, her voice strong and full of feeling. Unknown to her, she had an audience outside.

During the second verse, April arrived at the door, finding it locked. She raised her hand to knock but froze as she listened to Karai, thinking that she sang surprisingly well. April frowned as she registered what song it was. She was a little jealous of Karai, who was currently involved with Leo. Not that she wanted them to break up. She had no designs on Leo. She just wished romance could be so easy for her. When the song finished, Karai stopped the recording as April tapped on the door. 

Karai’s eyes widened but she regained her composure with a couple deep, slow breaths. Getting to her feet, she took off her earbuds and disconnected them from the phone, walking to the door and unlocking it. When she opened the door and saw April, she blinked but otherwise showed no sign that she was uncomfortable with her. 

"Hi, Karai," April said, a little too cheerfully. "You’ve got a great singing voice."

Karai’s first thought was, How much did you hear? But aloud, she said, "Arigato, April," her face blank.

"You really love Leo, huh?" April frowned uncertainly.

Karai shrugged one shoulder with a wry smile. "For now. You never know. I get bored easily." Her lips smirked as her eyes laughed.

"What? You’re not playing with his heart, are you?"

"That wouldn’t be very nice, would it?" Karai drawled sassily, eyes turning cunning.

"How could you?" April scolded. "Leo deserves better."

"There’s no need to be insulting," Karai snapped. "I’ll just be going." She tried to push past her to head outside, but April stood in the doorway and blocked her exit.

"Wait," April said, drawing her tessen.

Karai’s eyes narrowed as she drew a tanto and stood ready for combat.

But April shook her head and extended the fan toward Karai. "No. I don’t want to fight. I want to talk. And give you this."

Karai blinked again and backed into the room, sitting on April’s bed and sheathing her sword. April sat beside her and put the fan on Karai’s lap. Karai picked up the fan and noted the Hamato symbol on it. "Did this belong to Father?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," April nodded. "Sensei meant for you to have it. He gave it to me because he thought you were dead. So really, it’s rightfully yours." April bit her lip and stared at her lap.

Karai held her sheathed sword in one hand and the closed fan in the other, frowning uncomfortably. "I suppose it would sound really bad if I said I don’t want it?"

April’s head snapped up in surprise, and she couldn’t quite hide her hope. "I’ve kind of gotten attached to it. But I think it would make Sensei happy to know it’s with you."

"I’d hate to disappoint Father, but the tanto was the weapon that chose me. And well, it has…sentimental value." She gave an enigmatic smile and walked across the room near the door, playing the recording she’d made and fast-forwarding through the entire song to make sure it was all there. Satisfied, she sent it as a multimedia message to Leo with a note: "Thanks for the song, Samurai. It’s 'The Right Kind of Love.' BTW, nice voice." Walking back to the bed, she returned the fan to April again and resumed her seat.

April smirked at Karai. "I bet it does. More fun to spar with Leo with a sword, I imagine."

Karai smiled wryly. "Definitely. And probably a lot safer. Weird as that sounds. I guess you were destined for the tessen. And maybe that makes you an honorary member of the clan. You’re more a part of it than I am."

"I’m not related to Sensei, though. You are."

"That doesn’t mean anything, April. This house is full of strangers. You’re probably closer to Leo and Father than I am." Karai sounded annoyed, angry.

"Hey, at least you have a romance," April muttered back.

"What are you complaining about?" Karai snarled. "You look human enough to find someone. You can go off and have a normal life - go to school, get a job, maybe get married. I’m sure you can easily find guys a dime a dozen doing those things."

"Karai, I can’t. I mean, I’m not sure I can have children. And I have psychic abilities. I can’t date normal guys. I’d have to lie to them. Besides, even though I do want to go to college and study Biology, I also want to keep contact with you and the Turtles. I could do that with a normal life, but I couldn’t really have any close friends in case they find out about you all. So it wouldn’t really be a normal life. It’s a half life either way. I’m not fully mutant or human." April sighed in frustration.

Karai stood up and began pacing, trying to process what April was saying. She stopped in front of a mirror, sticking out her forked tongue and examining her snake eyes. She was clearly a mutant, with or without legs. As for the so-called "normal" life, Karai had never wanted it. She found she was used to living strangely, whether being the daughter of a crime lord or a rat. Normal would be strange to her, and probably really dull. She said as much to April, who sighed grumpily. "What about romance, then? If you’re not fully human, you could probably date one of the Turtles, right? Or are they too weird for you? When I first met Leo, I thought he looked strange, but also really intriguing. Helped a lot that he knew how to use a katana." She grinned at April, exposing sharp fangs, and sat next to her again.

April looked away awkwardly. "The Turtles can’t escort me to a movie theater or a restaurant or a museum. Casey could, but he probably wouldn’t want to do those things. He likes more action."

Karai narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "April, you know you can’t get everything, right? You can’t find the perfect person for you. You have to settle for the best person for you."

April glowered irritably. "That’s easy for you to say. You’ve already found him."

"He wasn’t easy to find, April," Karai hissed, grumbling.

"Could have fooled me," April retorted.

"You can’t force it, April. Or hey, you could just date anyone who looks nice, human or mutant, if you want romance so badly. Problem with that approach is that it’s shallow and dangerous. Maybe Leo’s rubbing off on me, but I recommend waiting for the real thing. You don’t know who you’ll meet later or how your feelings might change." As Karai spoke, the sound of swords clashing emanated from her phone. She smiled and April saw her expression gentle as she opened Leo’s text. It said, "And thank you. It’s good to have you 'Next to Me.' BTW, likewise, and dinner’s almost ready." Putting her phone away, Karai stood and headed for the door. "We’re being summoned to dinner."

April nodded absently but stayed where she was. Karai paused, looking over her shoulder, noting April’s sad expression. Sighing, she turned around and offered a final piece of advice. "It’s not about what you do together. It’s about what you give each other." Karai walked away, April’s hand against her chin thoughtfully. 

Eventually, April smiled and nodded, this time fully aware of her surroundings. Karai had changed and changed a lot recently. Leo seemed to be a good influence on her. Maybe Karai knew what she was talking about. Yes, April would wait to see what the future brought. 

April made her way downstairs and found a seat to Karai's right. Karai nodded to her and glanced at Leo to her left and Splinter beside him. Rice, teriyaki chicken wings, assorted steamed vegetables, and pitchers of water were laid out and the entire house was waiting for April.

Looking around at the faces beside and across from her, April thought back to what Karai had said about how well she knew them, how much history they had. She realized Karai was right. April had the love of family, and while that was different from romance, it was more than Karai had with a dad like the Shredder. April always knew she was loved and even had memories of her mother. April realized Karai had reason to resent her, too. "Karai?" she called.

"Yeah?" Karai responded sharply, unconsciously projecting defenses now that she was out in the open.

"I’ll follow your advice. I appreciate your help and-" She met her Sensei's eyes briefly before addressing Karai again. "This house is full of family, not strangers. And this family can be counted on. They’ll love you, fight for you, annoy you, stand by you, and always tell you the truth. I’m sure of it, because that’s how they’ve always treated me. I hope one day, you’ll see them that way, too."

Karai offered April a sincere smile, in full view of the group arranged around the table. "Family," Karai said softly. "Yes. I’ll give this a try." She touched the back of Leo’s hand as the group smiled and nodded happily before tucking into their meal with relish.


End file.
